iTunes Store: 25 billion songs sold

Apple has officially sold over 25 billion songs and one lucky customer has just got a $10,000 iTunes Store card.

Apple has sold over 25 billion songs on its popular iTunes Music store, the company announced today.

The 25 billionth song sold was Monkey Drums (Goksel Vancin Remix) by Chase Buch, and it was purchased today by Phillip Lüpke from Germany. The lucky customer was awarded a $10,000 iTunes Store gift card by Apple.

“We are grateful to our users whose passion for music over the past 10 years has made iTunes the number one music retailer in the world,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “Averaging over 15,000 songs downloaded per minute, the iTunes Store connects music fans with their favourite artists, including global sensations like Adele and Coldplay and new artists like The Lumineers, on a scale we never imagined possible.”

“In a lot of ways, iTunes has leveled the playing field for musicians. Whether you’re unsigned, indie, major, whatever—it’s the place most people go to buy digital music,” said Wesley Schultz, guitarist and lead vocalist of The Lumineers. “iTunes doesn’t exclude any musicians simply because they’re not yet established or popular.”

The iTunes Store is the world's most popular online store, and Apple claims to sell over 26 million different tracks.

There has been some discussion lately about the raft of press releases coming from Apple. This is the third release in ten days, leading to speculation that Apple is going out of its way to communicate its successes to the press following the negative reception to its best ever financial results announced on 23 January.